Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-12-17
IT'S A COLD DAY.
SOME WEATHER LOREOF THE OLD
PLANTATION NEGRO.
Signs Which Herald the Approach of a
Severe Winter-Nut Crop Heavy and the
Hornets Nests Built Iowa Deceptive
New England Day-A Texas Wind.
copyrighted, 1871

ana hickory nuts, ana last telt not least, IN
the eyes of the plantation seer, the hornets
nests are built close to the ground The old
negro would hold a man skeptic bold
agnostic, if he presumed to doubt the value
of these two signs. 1t accords well with the
generous heart of Dame Nature that severe
winter be preceded by a bounteous harvest of
food for the chipmunk and squirrel, but
there seems little reason for imagining that
the hornet takes any interest in our winters.
He emigratcs to warm climate as soon as
the grass is aged enough to wear a beard of
white frost, and those of the family unable
to depart are affectionately left to freeze to
death by their practical relatives. Hence,
the exact bearing of depressed or elevated
hornets nest on the mildness or rigor of the
approaching winter is difficult to ascertain
but it is straw highly valued by the
negro, as much so as are air-currents
and isothermal lines by the meteorolo
gist. Old winter-gray- haired and sedate
as he is-loves to deceive people. His feints
are worthy of strategist. One would
scarcely imagine as he strolls out in the
glorious Indian summer weather. and enjoys
the gentle, loving touch of the soft air that
it may be but the spy of as fierce winter as
ever howled about your gables, and tweaked
your cars and nose. The very mist that
hangs about the woods may be but the dust
raised by the steady march of the icy cohorts
as they follow in the footsteps of their In
dian spy.
Some years old winter makes preparations
for an early and vigorous campaign. AS
early as September, he sends his lieutenant,
Jack Frost, to smooth his way, to cut down
vegetation, and scatter the leaves from the
trees; then the north wind comes blowing
her trumpet at the gate and demanding an
unconditional surrender, and snow squall
scatters its downy flakes in October. What
a terrible winter is coming Beginning so
early and so iercely, one shudders at the
thought and estimates his wood pile;
but 10! the deceptive old fellow never
had an idea of coming this way. Christmas
and New Years Day are green and one of
the mildest winters on record gides down the
groove of time Winter has lost much of
its terror in these days of tight houses, fur
naces and perfected stoves, but it was vastly
different in my boyhood days. l was raised
in a Maryland farmhouse which would
have suited an advocate of ventilation to
dot. One day the carpet was torn up by the
force of the wind coming through crevices
in the floor. Great fires roared in the wide
fireplaces, the flames leaping up like kanga-
roos as they devoured half cord of wood,
but as we sat in front of this glowing mass,
our faces would be half roasted while
the cold played game of hide and seek up
and down our spines, and six feet from the
fire ones breath issued from ones mouth
like smoke. The hall reminded one of Nova
Zembla, and the taking of water for lavatory
purposes to the bed-chamber was abandoned
it would be a solid cake ere morning. l
have often awakened in the morning to find
that the snow had insdiously crept in the
crevices about the window and lay in
pile on the floor. With all this ex-
posture everybody was healthy and Wig
orous and colds were not half as fire.
quent as now. AS long as snow covered the
ground we boys had wet feet, for the gum
shoe had not as yet penetrated the pine for
ests in our region, so we took off our soaked
stockings at hight and went to bed, I'M
troubled by thoughts of possible evil results
which never came. The negro suffered. He
is a tropical animal, and can sleep sweetly
with the fierce glare, of July MONDAY fall
ing full upon him, but he breads thecold.
Severe nights they would assemble in one
apartment and huddle around a roaring fire
like so many sheep, keeping warm by con-
tact.
The lowest temperature ever experienced
was 200 below zero in New Hampshire
town. arrived there late in the evening
and the following morning was one of the
most beautiful had ever beheld. Not cloud
fecked the bright blue of the heavens, and
the sun poured his rays on the snow-Covered
town with all the brlliancy of May morn
ing. 1t looked inviting out of doors; that
sun must be warm, and l wondered
as | looked out of the window at
passerS by enveloped head, nose and ears
in mul'ifarious wrannings After breakfast
j dpnnpd a medium overcoat and went out.
1t was perfectly calm, but the atmosphere,
which was full of luminous particles floating
about, wet my face as though had pressed
it against a wall of ice The flesh puckered
and made grimaces. Even then did not
realize anything abnormal about the tenn
perature, until man remarked, "You had
hnff 10 httr,, or Il
nose will friz." Then Iawoke to the true state
of affairs and FASTENED back to the hotel. Just
outside the door was thermometer, and it
registered 200 below zero. Certainly more
deceptive day had never seen a man could
pleasantly freeze to death and all the time
think it rather mild day. Of course had
the wind been blowing it would have been
unbearable.
If you will pardon the paradox, this day,
200 below zero, was very cold, but the coolest
night ever felt was in Austin, Texas, when
the mercury stood 800 above; at least | suf-
fered more. A wind commenced blowing in
the EVENING" wind that had been prepar-
ing for this special excursion ever since
autumn on the summit of Pixies Peak, fill
ing itself with the essence of cold until it was
concentrated iceberg; then with whoop
and yell it swooped down on the Texan
plains, and whew how cold it was The
first ice in many years formed, and people
nearly persisted.
In the North, where extreme cold is ex-
pected, preparations are made to Withstand
its assaults. Double doors and windows
keep the wind out, but in the South, where
generally the breeze is a welcome guest, COM
fort became thing of the past. Itappeared to
ME that the house was in was bird cage, for
the wind whstled unmolested all through it.
| will never forget that night; put on all
the clothes in my valise until l must have
been aldermanic in proportions, but of no
avail-triple steel would not have kept that
wind out. l shivered standing still, walking
about and lying down; finally at daybreak
/ crept into the kitchen and besought the
could thaw myself out.
Our cold spells are, however, but weak puny
infants compared with the fierce warriors
which scour the great Western 'prairies
Think of a blizzard of driving snow flying
along at express train speed and the wind
sharpened to $50 below zero. Then imagine
that frigid giant ruling in the Arctic regions.
First, mercury freezes at 400 below zero, then
alcoholis used until the thermometer sinks to
100 below Zero A man exposed, few mo-
ments only, to such cold would fall insen-
sible, the blood gushing from nose and
mouth, while iron touched would scar as if
red hot. Sometimes the area of extreme cold
makes foray into southerly regions. In 1885
mercury froze at Bangor Me-. which means
400 below zero. Boston and New York har-
bors were completely ice-locked and wagons
crossed the Potomac on the ice. Some
periods of terrible cold in Europe are men
toned in old chronicles. The "Chroniques
de st. Denis'' record that in 544 birds fell tn